Comfort Quest
by hannahtranter16
Summary: When Perry arrives at DEI he expects the usual scheme and fight, but what he finds is far from normality. Perry must step out of his comfort zone as an Agent and rely on the Pet side of himself if he's ever going to get his frenemy out of his shell after a rather nasty nightmare has disrupted the two's routine.


**Hello there people who love Fanfiction, and more specifically Phineas and Ferb Fanfiction! I haven't posted in a while, which is a bummer as I really love to write but haven't had the time, but finally I have something to post! I've been working on a big story for a while, but I've also had a few small story ideas. This is a one shot for Perry and Dr D that I think you'll like. It's only meant as friends, but I think the relationship between the two of them is quite complex and is more than them just hating each other, they got each other's backs too! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, only the story itself, the characters belong to Disney, or more specifically the very creative Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. **

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Settling down for the night was something Perry always looked forward to. After a hard day's work fighting Dr Doofenshmirtz, all the platypus wanted to do was snuggle down with his owners while they watched TV, read or did whatever they wanted to after dinner. It was an unspoken rule that unless it was family night, there was a sleepover or an emergency, after dinner was Phineas, Ferb and Perry time.

"Goodnight Perry," the red-headed boy called softly, settling under his covers and bidding the same to his green-haired step-brother.

"Goodnight," Ferb replied, wishing it to both his brother and their beloved pet.

The teal platypus curled up under the arm of his red haired owner, nuzzling his side before closing his eyes and falling into a well deserved sleep.

The alarm clock did its usual wakeup call at 7am, the clock arm appearing and its finger gently nudging the teal platypus to wake him up, his well-loved chirp waking up the boys. They got ready quickly, eager to start and make the most of the new sunny day.

After having his breakfast, Perry joined the boys outside in the back garden under the shade of the tree. One thing that he did find uncomfortable about fighting the doctor during the summer was when it became really hot, occasionally being unbearable. Luckily the doctor usually dialed down his schemes during those days, that or it involved something that would cool them down.

The boys had just decided what they wanted to with the day when his watch started vibrating, signaling that it was time for work.. Making sure that no-one was looking, the boy's friends having arrived earlier, he snuck off to the side of the house and made his way through the entrance to his lair. Dropping gracefully in his chair, brown fedora already adorning his head, Perry waited patiently for his boss to give him the briefing for his mission.

"Good morning Agent P," Major Monogram addressed the platypus, "Dr Doofenshmirtz has been quiet this morning, so get over there and see what's going on, a quiet evil scientist is never a good thing," Perry nodded, running over to his hover car to get to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. Monogram wishing him "Good luck Agent P,".

On the ride over, Perry kept thinking about what Doofenshmirtz was up to. It was rare that he was ever quiet, but when he was Monogram was right; it was never good. Parking the hovercraft at the foot of the building, Perry took the lift up, giving himself time to figure out what was going on. What trap would be waiting for him today? It was a good job that he had all the basics covered with the tools in his fedora. Cage? No he'd done that yesterday. Net? No too old school for Doof, he was trying to go in a different direction. Maybe it would be something to match the theme of his scheme? Yeah probably. Chocolate brown eyes glanced up at the lift number, he was nearly at the top floor. Time to get ready.

Cracking his fingers in preparation, Perry got ready to kick down the door for what seemed like the hundredth time this summer, only this time was different. Taking a run at the door, Perry jumped, stretching his foot out to take out the door, only for the door to open before he could reach it. Eyes widening, Perry realised too late what had happened, and promptly fell through the door. Doing a few tumbles along the floor, he pushed himself up with his hands and managed to land back on his feet.

Turning around, Perry saw a teenage girl by the door, hand on the doorknob. Vanessa, Doofenshmirtz's daughter, stood before him clutching the door with her other hand, a concerned yet slightly scared expression on her face. Perry immediately became concerned, Vanessa never let anything scare her, being a Goth and all it was part of the requirement to like scary things. This time however, something was wrong.

She came over to him, kneeling down and placing a hand on his shoulder, albeit hesitantly.

"I'm really happy you came Perry," she said. At this the teal platypus could only look confused, she certainly did not look happy.

"Dad's been acting weird all morning and he's not responding to me," Perry rubbed his chin thoughtfully, normally this was the other way around, Doofenshmirtz would do anything to get his daughters attention, not deflect it. He tilted his head slightly before looking around, silently asking where the doctor was.

"He's over there," the sixteen year old pointed towards the sofa, where Perry could not believe what he saw.

Curled up in a ball was the doctor in question. He sat on the purple sofa, legs drawn up to his chin, arms wrapped tightly around them while he trembled and rocked back and forth, muttering incessantly. Perry could only stare, he'd never seen his frenemy like this before. Sure Heinz had had a very traumatic childhood and he'd seen the man distressed, but certainly not to this extent.

"I found him like this," Vanessa commented, her hand rubbing her arm as she led Perry towards the shaking scientist. He looked at her questioningly, holding a hand out to get her to continue. "I think he fell asleep on the sofa last night, but when I woke up he was like this," Perry nodded, trying to look as comforting as possible, "When I tried to get him out of it, he just closed up even more," The poor girl looked close to crying and that was something Perry did not like nor want to see.

A small teal hand took Vanessa's own, leading her towards the kitchen. Pointing to himself and then the wreck of a scientist, Perry reassured her that he would take care of her father. She nodded in thanks and went off to take her mind of everything.

Returning once more to the living room, the small platypus strained his ears to figure out what his nemesis was saying. He caught the words 'No' and 'Please don't' more times than should be necessary, but the rest was either too quiet for him to hear or was being said in German, which he had yet to take a course in. It was clear that the nightmare has spooked the poor scientist, but what it was Perry couldn't figure out. Usually, Heinz would tell him the back-story and what was troubling him no problem. Maybe he would open up to Perry, after all, he'd given no indication that he was here, the door was opened up not smashed down.

A concerned look still adorning his features, Perry let out his usual chatter, keeping it low so as not to spook his frenemy but to still get his attention. The teal platypus's heart sank when he saw Doofenshmirtz flinch violently before looking in his direction. Sure he was always fighting the man, but they had their moments.

"Oh, hey there Perry the Platypus," was the only response the platypus got before the doctor went back to his quaking. Determined not to be discouraged Perry climbed up on the sofa and placed a small, soft teal paw on the doctor's knee, to which the reaction was an even more, if at all possible, violent flinch.

Perry was, figuratively speaking, at a loss for words. He had never seen Heinz in such as state, and as a result was at a complete loss as to what to do. There had to be some way to comfort someone after they'd had a nightmare, and a particularly bad one at that. In all of his Secret Agent training, there was nothing in the manual about how to comfort your nemesis, probably because you weren't supposed to be friendly with your nemesis, but that was beside the point.

The only other time Perry has seen someone in a state close to the one Doof was in was when Phineas had had a really bad nightmare. The poor boy had been tossing and turning in his sleep when Perry had gone over to sleep in Ferb's bed and had woken up screaming, drenched in sweat. His Mom and Dad had come racing in, but he wouldn't speak to either of them. He wouldn't open up to Candace, and despite the constant busting attempts (Yes he'd noticed), the two of them had a pretty close relationship. But Phineas wouldn't even open up to Ferb properly. He told him bits and pieces, such as that it was about something he feared, but seemed to be still trapped in the confines of his nightmare. Perry couldn't very well stand by and do nothing, and though his secret identity kept him from comforting his owner one way, he wasn't completely powerless. Everyone in the family, even Candace, sought him out when they were feeling down even if he wasn't sure why. They'd stroke him and he'd nuzzle them and that would always seem to calm them down. And maybe that was just the thing that Heinz needed right now.

A little out of his comfort zone, Perry let his instincts as a pet guide him rather than any secret agent training he'd received. Heinz needed a pet right now, not a nemesis.

First he would need to try and get the apprehensive scientist to relax and settle on the sofa properly. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, to which the doctor flinched again, Perry rubbed comforting circles, whilst gaining and maintaining eye contact. Doofenshmirtz may have the burden of outspoken conversation, but that wasn't the only way to communicate. Chocolate brown eyes gazed softly at dark blue eyes, reassuring that they weren't a threat, but were there to help. The doctor seemed to get the message, as his mutterings stopped and his body relaxed. He unwrapped his legs, letting them fall loosely over the sofa edge, and gingerly brought his arms to rest in his lap, leaning his back against the sofa properly. The uncontrollable shaking never ceased, but Perry would work on that in just a moment. Right now he was happy with the progress.

Few words were exchanged during this slow process, the occasional confused "Perry?" emitted quietly from the shaking scientist, but other than that all conversations were silent, and yet understood more than any words that could be exchanged.

Now that he wasn't hurting himself more by staying in a tight position and with tense muscles, Perry could try and comfort his frenemy properly. Mindful of his fedora, and aware that Doof would find it hard to recognise him without his fedora on, Perry gently nuzzled Heinz's side with the side of his head, trying to be as affectionate as possible even if it was a little awkward. Doofenshmirtz himself looked a little confused at the action, eyes widening slightly as yet another inquiring "Perry?" was uttered. The little platypus ignored the disquieting reaction, and merely continued in his comfort quest. He lay down on the sofa like he would at home and again nuzzled his frenemy, this time with his whole body against the outer of Doofenshmirtz's leg, curling beside him.

Still a little confused at the gesture, but not wanting to hurt his frenemy's feelings, the doctor awkwardly patted the furry teal back, hand coming to a rest after a few pats. Perhaps Perry needed some comfort too?

When Perry felt the hand merely resting against his back he pushed against it, stretching himself and trying to convey his message. Doof seemed to understand and started stroking him properly. It took a few minutes, but Heinz started settling down. He began to talk properly, posture slouching as he raked his fingers through the teal fur.

"You know Perry the Platypus your always there for me," He started, "I mean there are other people who are around, but you stick by me, like glue, but a good glue," The doctor kept rambling, returning to his old self, "And how did you know what to do, I mean you can't have been in many situation where you've had to comfort your nemesis, I mean you have done that a few times, but not like this," Perry couldn't bring himself to care that Heinz was talking way too much, he was back to normal, well normal for Doofenshmirtz at least, and that was the important thing.

"You know it's scientifically proven that stroking a cat or a dog will lower your blood pressure and make you relax," Doofenshmirtz injected into the conversation, "I guess it's the same with a Platypus too," He was smiling softly as he continued to ramble, a sure sign that whatever the nightmare was it was long forgotten.

Perry listened absentmindedly. After all he knew how irritated Doof could get when he didn't listen to him, apparently no other nemesis was as good as the platypus at listening to him. One thing he heard the doctor say was that the relaxation of stroking a pet goes both ways, and for how ridiculous half of Heinz's schemes were he wasn't wrong about this one. Teal eyelids kept fluttering lazily over chocolate brown eyes, threatening to remain shut if the relaxing treatment continued. It wasn't right for him to become relaxed too, he was supposed to be helping his frenemy. Still a few more minutes couldn't hurt. He wasn't Phineas or Ferb, but Doofenshmirtz was pretty good at this.

At some point teal eyelids did indeed stay shut and a peculiar noise resounded throughout the room. Heinz looked down at the teal ball of fur, leaning slightly closer, the noise becoming louder as his ear reached the ball. He could feel a sort of buzzing sensation on the palm of his hand also and was quite confused. If only for a few seconds. A satisfied smile wormed its way onto his face as he heard the distinctive sound of a content and relaxed platypus: a purr.

"Aw how cute," Perry heard the comment, and for a moment was unsure what he was going on about, what was cute?

"I've never heard you purr before, I didn't even know you did purr, huh the things you learn eh Perry the Platypus?" Purr? He was purring? Oh no he was purring! He had to get a hold of himself, Doofenshmirtz was his nemesis for crying out loud!

Perry tried to sit up, to save what was left of his dignity, but found himself hitting a wall. Well a hand. Doofenshmirtz, whilst not stopping stroking the soft fur, put more pressure on his back, effectively stopping the platypus in his tracks. "Consider yourself trapped Perry the Platypus,"The doctor had a small smile on his face, and Perry almost started laughing at the weak attempt to make things normal. Smiling himself, he let himself relax and indulge this one time. Doof certainly wouldn't hold it against him and besides it may have been weak, but he could still tell Major Monogram that everything had happened normally, trap and teal platypus gratefully nuzzled the doctors leg again before closing his eyes, letting his metaphorical hair down for this one time.

They stayed like that for a while, Vanessa returning to the living room with three cups of hot chocolate on a tray. Heinz took one from the tray, thanking her heartily, sipping a little before cursing in German as his tongue was burnt. Vanessa giggled at her father's supposed severe pain, placing the tray on the coffee table and taking a hot chocolate for herself. Perry opened an eye lazily, glancing at the warm beverage before deciding against it. The caffeine in his morning coffee had worn off and he was more relaxed than he had been in a while, he'd drink the hot chocolate when he was ready to wake up.

Doofenshmirtz swirled the warm liquid in his mug, seemingly lost in thought. He nudged the teal platypus beside him gently, a chocolate brown eye looking up at him in interested confusion.

"You know I could totally take over the Tri-State area with this stuff," He rambled, both his frenemy and his daughter staring back at him like he was crazy. Well crazier anyway.

"Yeah I could spill it over everyone and they would be so paralyzed by the hot pain that I could just waltz in and take over," As if to emphasise the point, he leaned his mug over Perry's hat, chocolate eyes following the movement nonchalantly, and tipped it ever so slightly. Nothing came out, the doctor made sure of that, but it was still fun to do.

Following their normal routine, though this time finding it highly amusing, the teal platypus sat up, mindful of where the mug was, and took it away from the doctor. Doofenshmirtz started complaining about how his plans had been foiled yet again, though Perry could tell that there was no real malice behind his words. He tried to place the mug on the table, but it was too far away for him to reach without getting up or falling off the sofa. Vanessa clued on quickly and took the mug from him, placing it where he had been trying, Perry tipping his fedora in thanks.

Perry was about to settle back down against his frenemy's strangely comfortable leg, the doctor encouraging this by pushing him gently back to where he was his stroking never ceasing, until he glanced at the clock on the wall. Doing a double take, he realised that it was getting late and his owners would be expecting him back soon. He sat up properly again, but this time jumped off the sofa before there was a chance to coax him back down.

"Perry the Platypus?" The doctor looked at him confused and what looked to be slight hurt in his dark blue eyes, but Perry quickly pointed to the clock, "Oh I guess it is getting rather late," Vanessa had taken the three mugs of chocolate back into the kitchen, though not before giving Perry a small hug to say goodbye.

"Well same time tomorrow?" Heinz asked, Perry nodding in response giving his signature chatter, "Thank you Perry the Platypus, I promise I'll have an Inator tomorrow," Perry smiled warmly, gave a final tip of his hat and left through the front door.

Perry made it home with time to spare. He caught a quick glimpse of the boys invention before it disappeared, who knew that so many people in Danville wanted some kind of invention made by two young boys.

"Oh there you are Perry," Phineas said in his usual cheery tone, picking the monotreme up and carrying him inside just as Linda announced that she was making snacks. Perry sat, eyes unfocused, on the sofa as the boys ate their healthy snacks, occasionally slipping him some when no-one was looking. He watched as they started deciding which invention to work on tomorrow, giving little huffs and chatters when he disagreed or agreed with what they were saying.

When they settled down for the night, Perry snuggling up to Phineas for the beginning of the night, the platypus finally got a chance to reflect on the day's events. He had reported to Monogram before he went home that everything went as normal and Doofenshmirtz had been foiled as per usual. He seemed a little suspicious but didn't ask any questions so Perry didn't really care. He glanced at his red-haired owner and then over at his green-haired one, smiling as he did so. He was glad that he had helped Heinz today. As much as they fought, each was a big part of the other's life. Perry certainly couldn't imagine not going to fight Doofenshmirtz everyday almost as much as he couldn't imagine life without Phineas and Ferb.

To Perry Phineas, Ferb and Heinz were the most important people in his life. And he would do anything to make sure that they were okay, even if it meant just being there for them when they needed it.

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**Well I hope you enjoyed the story and you'll enjoy any others that I post! :D**

**I would love it if you would review the story, I'm always looking for feedback :) **


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